


arms wide open

by sshomoerotica



Series: Warcraft Drabbles [2]
Category: Warcraft (2016), World of Warcraft
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Spoilers, Spoilers for Warcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 04:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7252129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sshomoerotica/pseuds/sshomoerotica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a good thing Garona is here. She's better versed in feelings than Khadgar is -- there's a certain emotional ... <i>aloofness</i> that goes hand in hand with the Kirin Tor he's still trying to work through.</p><p>He doesn't begrudge Garona and Lothar their closeness, but he can't help wishing he could be a comfort to them as well.</p><p> <span class="small">[Garona comforts Lothar. Khadgar observes.]</span></p>
            </blockquote>





	arms wide open

**Author's Note:**

> I really loved the dynamic between these three. I loved that Garona offered comfort to Lothar but there weren't any huge romantic overtures? Esp. considering this scene where he was talking about his wife. I was sitting there crossing my fingers they didn't decide this was the perfect moment for Garona and Lothar to make out. 

* * *

* * *

 

The mood is decidedly somber as they retire to an inn for the night. Lothar's loss is palpable; he's managed to drink himself into a stupor, laying across the empty bar with a tankard dangling listlessly from his fingers. True, they lost many good men and women today, but this was Lothar's son - the queen's nephew. Khadgar had barely known Callan, but from what he saw of him and his father together, it was been painfully obvious how much Lothar cared. And to lose someone, to watch as they die and be powerless to reach them; Khadgar can't begin to imagine the turmoil brewing in Lothar now.

This war - _for that is what this is becoming, a true war_ \- is not what Khadgar expected when he first found traces of Fel in the bodies of the dead men. He hadn't thought he'd be on the front lines, watching men and women die and feeling helpless to do anything about it.

Callan had been so young, so eager to please and fight and bring pride, but not so grown yet as to keep from calling Lothar by his familial title in front of anyone listening.

There were parts of him that looked like Lothar. Parts of him that _were_ Lothar - the way he stood, the easy bravery, the staunch sense of duty. But there were other parts of him that Khadgar can only guess were indicative of his mother; the softness in his eyes, the cut of his cheeks. It's hard to imagine Lothar as a husband or with a pregnant wife; harder still to imagine him cradling a babe. Khadgar wonders absently what Lothar's wife was like. Most likely strong, physically and morally. She would have stood toe to toe with him - as the queen does. As Garona does.

Lothar and Garona. The two of them are a good pair; each strong in their own right, evenly matched in a fight but with inherently kind souls.

She has suffered loss, and she knows pain. In this, she and Lothar can find common ground. She yearns for belonging; it doesn't take an expert in emotions to see that. Every bit of trust given to her has been returned twofold, silent and unwavering.

Emotions are, in their own way, a form of magic. It's what makes Mages vie to keep such a strong hold on everything they feel. Spellcasting is difficult at the best of times, but magic - the arcane - is easily swayed by strong feelings. Lothar's feelings are like ripples in a pond, palpable to Khadgar even as he sits on the stairs of the inn, swathed in shadows. He can sense Garona's answering heartache, and he knows his own spells would wobble precariously in his current state.

She throws a glance over to Khadgar, looking between him and Lothar with a questioning quirk to her brows. Khadgar doesn't have anything to say - he shakes his head quickly at her, embarrassment flooding him from head to toe. Her expression softens and she turns away, making her way over to Lothar.

It's a good thing Garona is here. She's better versed in feelings than Khadgar is -- there's a certain emotional ... _aloofness_ that goes hand in hand with the Kirin Tor he's still trying to work through. Khadgar can recognize the grief, but he knows whatever he could think of to say wouldn't help. He's just as likely to make a fool of himself and insult Lothar as he is to assuage the pain.

Khadgar watches as they talk; he knows exactly what they're speaking about even as their voices drop to something conspiratorial.

She opens her arms so easily to Lothar, tucks her face against his neck and holds him close as he rolls unsteadily to his feet. It's late enough that most of the tavern's patrons are long gone; Khadgar himself should be in bed, but his head is a storm of feeling and his stomach is in knots.

He doesn't begrudge Garona and Lothar their closeness, but he can't help wishing he could be a comfort to them as well. He wishes that he were better with words beyond the incantations of spells. He wishes that he knew the way to ease the heartache as easily as a cleric soothes wounds. All Khadgar is good at is working the arcane, and the arcane is unfeeling, neutral energy. It isn't any good now, as they all sit and parse through the blood on their hands and the ache in their hearts.

Pain is what separates humans from animals. It's a basic lesson, one hammered into them in the Kirin Tor. Feelings are the fine line between strength and ruin, life and death. Compassion and empathy, rage and grief, suffering and hatred. All are unavoidable - some are necessary. But now Khadgar can't help thinking life would be easier if he could transform into something other than human to keep this pain at bay.

 

**Author's Note:**

> apparently my version of the kirin tor is a bunch of elitist vulcan assholes?? whoops


End file.
